Friday, January 13, 2017

Author Dan Gasby joins American Brain Foundation Board to Raise Awareness of Racial Disparities in Diagnosis and Research

Minneapolis, MN (January 12, 2017)—At
a time when our country is poised to celebrate the remarkable life and
legacy of the late Martin Luther King Jr., today author and advocate Dan
Gasby is joining forces with the American Brain Foundation (ABF)
to raise awareness of the tremendous racial disparities that exist
between African Americans and non-Hispanic whites when it comes to the
diagnosis, treatment and lack of adequate studies of brain disease.

“Brain Health is the greatest 21st Century
civil rights issue,” said Gasby. “When you lose your cognitive ability,
your rights as a human being are greatly diminished.”

Gasby
says this is particularly devastating for African Americans, who are
twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to develop late onset Alzheimer’s
and less likely to have a diagnosis of their condition, which often
results in little time for treatment and planning. Gasby’s wife, B.
Smith, a nationally recognized celebrity chef, supermodel and lifestyle
maven, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2013.

“From
my experience as a caregiver, I know that brain disease robs sufferers
of their dreams and ambitions and of their hopes and even their homes,”
said Gasby, who co-authored the moving memoir, “Before I Forget”
with his wife. “Our brain health is often directly tied to our
socioeconomic status. We need more funding, more awareness and more
compassion for the more than 50 million Americans afflicted with brain
diseases.”

Kevin
Goodno, Board Chair of the ABF, a national charity whose mission is to
bring researchers and donors together to defeat brain disease, said
Gasby’s election to the Board continues to diversify the organization
and better positions the ABF to address the critical need for funding to
accelerate research.

“Each
of our Board members shares our organization’s collective passion to
find a cure,” Goodno said. “Throughout our history, the American public
has successfully rallied to beat back pervasive threats to our personal
and public health, such as polio, cancer and HIV/AIDS. It’s now time to
defeat brain disease.”

Gasby
joins a distinguished ABF Board that includes world-renowned
neurologists, a former NFL Super Bowl champion, Vice President Walter
Mondale (Honorary Chair) and the most recent new member Susan Schneider
Williams, artist and widow of late actor and comedian Robin Williams.

For
more information about the American Brain Foundation or to learn more,
visit www.AmericanBrainFoundation.org, or find the Foundation on
Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.